Flying equipment



' R,.J.'MILLERY 4 FLYING EQUIPMENT me March 22, 1932 Nov. 20, 1934.

M L M 0% H m a W W T V n a n I 3 M0 mm a Patented Nov. 20, 1934 Y i V umrso STATES PATENT OFFICE FLYING EQUIPMENT Robert J. Miller, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application March 22, 1932, Serial No. 601,698

3 Claims. -(Cl. 244-21) This invention relates to flying equipment of a cabin structure per se while lending itself means serviceable in the aeronautical arts where as a releasable attachment that is studiedly conaeroplanes or dirigible air craft'is concerned. nected to the aeroplane at points, and to ele- The providing of a shock absorbing coupling ments, regarded practical but only suggested J means uniting an aeroplane and a descent rehere because of the variety in plane architecture 60 tarding body which will permit of separating and those incidental preferences determined by the structures connected while in the air, and h des ners of airaft. The t u t here s also upon landing when the severing of relations t d a o ble f t n t a e m t requiring may be automatically or manually performed in massive expanse, and the masking of this elel; order to escape damage through dragging after t V u e by adaptin t o fu o 65 landing h been fi t d, instance, the roof of a fuselage, through binding The offering of a sustaining parachute which means Sug est in y IO-p application can be arranged as a utilitarian adjunct formd D 1931, Serial 527,658, a d also ing, under normal conditions, a part of the in- Where there appears an initial inflating aid closing fuselage structure, while adapted to be which latter will hasten the rising and ultimate 70- released for expansjgn above a, plane to hose expansion Of an otherwise unnoticed structural skeleton structure the parachute is-attached for feature d aped in storing same to be of utilitaretarding d t of same, d for t t rian value, free to accord with whatever streaming of those aboard in case of fire or unmanageline the fuselage O a p a e y assume. For

g; ability of a plane, which l tt may be readily the reasons just given this disclosure includes 75 cut ioose t ieave t occupants free of t those features of structure which do not patentaahied plane t upported by parachute means bly rise above the diagrammatic delineation of whose efficient size is allowable by virtue of the a Construction rea y d p d by those skilled dual function which makes this element also a in the Concerned e structural feature of the planes passenger com- Referring to t r w an aeroplane A havpertinent ing a conventional skeleton framework 1, a cabin Other advantages will be noted throughout the fuselage a landing e 11' is shown in particular description, the essential features be- 1 tobe upp t d y a p a hu n sh wn, ing set forth in the appended claims both sec- Whose Shrouds y p s P are. connected to a 30 tions of this disclosure having reference to the conventional ring? y r silient attachments or 85 accompanying drawing which forms a part of sp terminals P" which s pp a quisit t application shock absorbing feature to be later described.

The several figures of the drawing are indexed The aforesaid parachute and aeroplane are as f0110w5; coupled together by means of a grapple assembly Fig. 1 i a general i showing t invention G which is designed to allow of separating said 90 as same is incorporated with a conventional aero Dare-Chute and P e W en disconnection is urp1ane gent. The said grapple means is also affected Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view illusa y or automatically up a din r setrating the coupling means employed for uniting lectively prior to landing in order to release the together n aeroplane and a h t 'parachutes force which may be directed towards 95 Fig. 3 is a view of the shock-cushioning means a ate danger beyond a p b e and less hazwhich functions, both at the ultimate expanding 31110118 lending p 'e w g c ee beof the parachute, and at the planes contact with tween i or and major phases of an already prea landing surface. cariousvbut mandatory adventure. Similar characters of reference apply to like Normally the folded parachute Will py e features throughout the several iews, area indicated by the dotted line Pd. This area The disclosing structure is necessarily dia- Will Obtain medially the Wings W Where the grammatic with regard to those detail essentials said parachute will be stored in a manner that of actual structure. The various applications will reproduce the curvature of the wings and of the principles involved are varied, especially the contours of the fuselage P OO havin in the manner of preserving life, as there are a suitable wind tunnel inlet at D to aid in the various ways by which aplurality of individuals raising of said parachute similar to what is dismay be held suspendedly by a parachute or equivclosed in the above cited application. alent supporting means. Also the arranging of The aforesaid grapple assembly comprises a set this essential element to accord with the design of jaws J pivoted at J beyond which fulcrum point are connected links S which, in turn, are pivoted to a cross-bar C that forms the upper member of a framework portion of the skeleton 2, arranged to allow limited reciprocation in the rigidly fixed skeleton 1-, under the restraint of a shock-absorbing assembly suitably housed in an inclosure 3 medially disposed in the landing gear A". The jaws are locked when closed by any appropriate latching means co-operative with a bar element L that will snap into locking relation for holding the jaws closed and responsive to a pulling draft upon the trip rope R for releasing the parts locked in a manner well-known in devices common in applications of this kind. The said rope passes through the cabin down to the landlage portion of the aeroplane, so that a series of,

loops or'life-belts 9 will dispose themselves within easy reach of the cabins occupants.

The landing gear A"'will be any form of the accepted designs appropriate which will allow the cylindrical casing 3 to be mounted medially so as to dispose a rod 10" that terminates in a bumper B and has'also a collar 10 which normally abuts a disc 11 terminating a tubular ended rod 11a; The rod 10 upwardly extends to retainedly slide in the said tubular end and its shouldering relation allows the said bumper a cushion effect. The rod 110 upwardlyextends to where it connects with the cross bar C. with this provision the bumper rod 10 is not disturbed by the action of any upward pull upon the rod 11a while remaining disposed to use the same resilient cushioning offered by a spring 12 which is compressed by a pull from the rod 11a and a pushing action ofthe bumper B upon landing. This sort of cushoning is requisite in an assembly such as" here considered for absorbing the shocks experienced when the parachute distends, at which time the effect of the suddenly expand: ed parachute, and the aer'oplanes weight, form opposing forces of great moment during which periods of stress something would give way were the coupling assembly rigidly articulated; The aforesaid plunger-bumper element has an auxiliary rod 10, which has anchored at its terminal, the trip rope R; the said rope is trained over an appropriate sheave r in the landing rigging so that, when the bumper is forced up as in landing a pull will be exerted on the said rope which unhasps the latch L' of the bar L thereby releasing the parachute whose expanse might still obtain to uncontrollably drag the aeroplane. The uncoupling may also be effected within the plane the occupants avail themselves of the life-saving equipment provided by the appendage 8 and 'its adjuncts 9. The roof of the cabin being formed by the folded parachute is then open and, with the passengers securely attached to the parachute, the aeroplane is cut off by pulling the trip rope R whereupon the plane falls, leaving the occupants suspended to the descent-retarding parachute. v v i It is here remarked that numerous methods of accommodating individuals in thematter of suspending appurtenances which would allow groups to be arranged in varying the preferred selection. This is, however, an optional selection as to equipment design. The present invention aims at a utilitarian phase which seeks to find storage space for a voluminous element and at the same time eliminate the handicap such an element forms as cargo if same is to be carried as cargo per se.

"Ihe shock absorbing means is purposely diagrammatic. There are endless arrangements of spring designs equally efficient here and for these reasons detailed structures, easily subject to the variations of design changes, are notregarded as pertinent when there isnothi'ng mechanically incongruous residing in the foregoing disclosure. Having described the invention whatis claimed and desired to protect by United States Letters Patent, is:-- Y

1. Flying equipment having a parachute, an aeroplane, a coupling means connecting together said parachute and said aeroplane, a reciprocative bumper for automatically affecting said means to break the coupling relation between the connected elements, and a shock absorbing instrumentality responsive for cushioning the shocks generated at the instant said parachute expands and when landing under parachute suspension. r

' 2. A flying equipment having adescent retarding parachute forming a detachable aeroplane cabin roof, a fuselage portion including the cabin of said aeroplane offering its skeleton framework as the support for said parachute, said parachute normally arranged as the protecting roof closure for the cabin in said fuselage, a cable-like appendage attached to said parachute disposed within the cabin beneath said parachute, and spaced gripping elements integral with said appendage accessible as pendants within said portion.

3. Flying equipment having a parachute anchored to the framework of an aeroplane, cou-- pling means intermediate between said parachute and said aeroplane forming part of the anchoring assembly, resilient shock absorbing instrumentalities between said parachute and said means, similar instrumentalities between said framework and the landing gear of said aeroplane, and reciprocatlve play allowable in said framework between said means and the last recited instrumentalities.

ROBERT J. MILLER. 

